A TEENAGER who led police on a dangerous high speed chase through Bridgwater before crashing and causing the death of his passenger has been jailed.

The 15-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Taunton Crown Court on Friday, October 4, charged with causing death by dangerous driving, the most serious of a string of offences.

The passenger who died following the crash was 17-year-old Cane Parr of Bridgwater.

The boy, who had previously been disqualified from driving in a previous incident in 2018, was spotted by an unmarked police car driving a Peugeot 307 in Bridgwater.

In court, dashcam footage of the ensuing police pursuit which took place at 5.10pm on Thursday, May 30 this year was shown.

William Hunter, speaking for the prosecution, said: "The footage shows the police officer is not putting the defendant under pressure, in fact he struggles to keep up with the car for much of the pursuit.

"The footage shows the defendant drove at speeds of up to 60mph in a 30mph residential area, drove on the wrong side of the road on several occasions forcing other road users to take evasive action, and drove through a red traffic light without slowing before losing control of the vehicle and crashing on Spaxton Road."

Mr Hunter explained that the driver was thrown from the vehicle over a hedge, and when interviewed initially by police, he said there was a third person in the car who was driving, which was quickly proved to be false during the investigation.

Cane Parr suffered a serious head injury and died in hospital later that evening.

In a later interview with the police, the defendant admitted he was the driver.

Mr Hunter proceeded to read a victim impact statement from Cane's mother, Caroline, who adopted Cane in 2007.

Mrs Parr said that Cane's death had caused 'total devastation' for the family, and they had been left with 'a huge hole in our hearts'.

Defending, William Light said the boy was remorseful for what he had done, and 'would do anything to reverse what happened to his friend that day'.

The 15-year-old was also charged with an assault which took place in Taunton Road, Bridgwater on January 31 this year in which he and another person punched, verbally abused and spat at a victim they claimed owed them money.

He was also sentenced for an incident of driving while disqualified in March, and for another matter in Bridgwater on April 4.

The court heard that on April 4, having consumed a bottle of vodka with friends, the teenager phoned the police saying a man had been selling drugs to children by Asda in Bridgwater, and phoned again to say he had been chased by the man with a knife.

Police responded with 18 members of staff including armed officers, a dog handler and a chief inspector to find the call was a hoax.

Judge Paul Cook sentenced the boy to a total of three years and eight months in prison.